The British-born Bettany is a recognized star overseas with well-received performances in film, on the London stage and on British television. American audiences have just discovered him in A
Knight's Tale, in which he played the comical role of Chaucer opposite Heath Ledger. He was named one of Daily Variety's "Ten to Watch" for 2001.

Classically trained at the Drama Centre in London, he made his stage debut in a West End production
of AnInspector Calls under the direction of Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot). He then spent a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in productions of
Richard III Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar before landing his first feature film role in Bent.

Bettany returned to the stage to appear in Love and Understanding at London's Bush Theatre. He later reprised that role at the Longwharf Theatre in Connecticut. The play led to more British television work, including Lynda La Plante's Killer Net and Coming Home, in which he starred with Peter O'Toole.

Bettany's appearance in the Royal Court Theatre productions of One More Wasted Year and Stranger's House preceded his second feature film role in David Leland's Land Girls with Catherine
Mc Cormack and Rachel Weisz. He next appeared in the film After the Rain.

He portrayed Steerforth in the TNT production of David Copperfield, directed by Peter
Medak, opposite Sally Field and Michael Richards. More feature film roles followed, including Suicide
Club with Jonathan Pryce and David Morrissey. He was nominated for a British Independent Film award and a London Film Critics' award for Best Newcomer in Gangster No. 1, directed by Paul
McGuigan, and starring Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, and Saffron Burrows. Gangster No. 1 is scheduled to open in the U.S. in February, 2002. He recently completed the period mystery- thriller The Reckoning opposite Willem
Dafoe, which re-teamed Bettany with director Paul McGuigan. The Reckoning will open in the U.S. in the first half of 2002.